Elevator door guide



Sept. 24, 1935. R L, HENRY 2,015,270

ELEVATOR ,DOOR GUIDE Filed March 8, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 37 A JNVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 24, 193.5

UNITED STATI-:s

IPATENT OFFICE rite Products Corporation,

- corporation of Ohio Ironton, Ohio, "a

- Application March 8, 1932, Serial No. 597,464

Claims.

This invention relates, generally, to elevators; and the invention has reference, more particularly, to a novel form of improved guide for use on elevator doors, such as hatchway doors and car 5 doors, the same being also adapted for use on all sliding doors.

As an elevator car travels up andsdown itsA in the metal threshold plates of floor landings,

and elevator cars. 'I'he metal to metal contact of the guide shoes with the sides of the guide grooves, and especially the inherent looseness of the guide shoes Within the guide grooves of the threshold plates, tends to greatly increase the rattling noise. l

This application is a continuation-in-part of applicants copending application,' Serial No.

515,034, led Feb. 1'1, 1931, for Elevator door guide,

wherein there is disclosed and claimed, a novel form of door guide, which, when applied to an elevator door, lsubstantially eliminates rattling or other noise Aof the door. f. The principal object of the present invention is to provide a novel elevator door guide of the general type disclosed in my copending application, but which embodies certain vimprovements Y and changes, the most pronounced of^which lies finV the provision of means for preventing the l parts of the door guid from becoming accidentalo ly separated prior to or during the instal-lation of the guiderupon an elevator door, vwhich acci-l Y dental separation of the guide parts might otherwise lead toloss of a part of the guide as well as slowing up of the installation.

'Another objecto'f the present invention lies in the provision of the novel elevator door'guide of the above character, having cooperable, intery of simple construction and which is reliableand has a long life in Other objects of this invention, not at this time more particularly enumerated, will be clearly understood frorn the following detailed de- 5 scription of the same.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

` Fig. 1 is a fragmentary, sectional view and illustr'ates an elevator car 'door equipped with one 10 form vof the novel elevator door guide of Y the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, sectional view taken substantially along line 2-2 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows. 15

Fig. 3 is a perspective view looking at the bottom of the hatchway door of Fig. l with the door removed from its guide groove.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a modified form of guide shoe.

Fig. 5 is a section aiview taken substantially along line 5-5 of Fig. '4.

Fig. 6 vis a view similarto Fig. 4 but of a slightly modied form of construction.

Fig'. 7 is a sectional view taken substantially 25 along line 1-1 of Fig. 6 looking in the direction oi the arrows.

Fig. 8 is a plan view-of a further modified form of guide shoe. A

Fig.v 9 is a perspectivev view of the structure 30 shown inFig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a viewsimilar to-Fig 8 and illustrates y a slightly modified form of construction.

' shown in Fig. 11,-"

j Similar characters of reference are employed in all oi the above described'views, to indicate corresponding parts. Y A o Referring now to Figs; 1A to 3 of the drawings, thereference numeral I designates the iioor of an elevator car vhaving a. door 2 which is illustrated as equipped with one form of the novel door guides of the presentinvention, which .guide is designated as a whole by the reference numeral '3. -Each car door as well as each'hatchway door is ordinarily equipped with two or more of the guides 3, which guides are secured to the bottoms of the doors and project into suitable guidegrooves pro- 50 vided in the threshold plate 'l of the elevator car and in the threshold plate or sill of the hatchway landing (not shownl.,

In Fig. l, the threshold plate I is illustrated as of the self-cleaning type and has guide bars 5' which-are engaged byv the door-guides 3. As

' especially shown in Figs. 2 and 3, each of the door guides .3 comprisesa body member 6 of prismatic shape, the same being of rectangular cross sec- 5 tion and having beveled surfaces' 1 at its ends. The end portions of the body member 6 are provided with vertical apertures for receiving screws l for attaching the door guide to thebottom of the door 2. The heads of the screws 8 are illustrated 10 as countersunk in the body member 6. f I

'I'he body member 64 is illustrated asprovided with a recess 9 at one side thereof for receiving a guide member III therewithin. The "guide memberi. is of substantially rectangular shape, as

15. viewed in` elevation, and the upper part of this 25 |I are Iadapted to rest, thereby supporting the' guide member I0 upon the bodymember i.

The uppervenlarged part of the body member recess 8 has beveled end walls -Il of substantially the same (inclination as the beveled ends I2. of

the guide member Il. 'ljhe length of the upper part of guide member Il is somewhat vless than the length of the upper enlarged part of recess 9 so as to permit limited transverse movement of -guide member III with respectv to the body member Thus, the guide member I0 may move outwardly of recess 9 a' limited distance as vshown in Fig. 3. Transverse movement of the-guid member III outwardly of recess l is limited by the beveled ends I2 contacting with beveled end walls M of the recess l. A bowed spring. II is con- 'tained within recess I of the body member and rests upon shoulders I3 of the body member. Spring AI5 acts to urge the guide member Il outwardly of recess 8, thereby tendingto position 5 Aguide member I2 inits outermost position, as

-illustrated in Fig. 3, with the-beveled ends I2 abutting the beveled end walls Il. The interlocking actionof the ends I2 withthe end walls Il serves to prevent the complete escape of the guide mem- 56 -ber Ill-front recess l under the action oi spring i and hence the guide member Il land. the bodyA member S will not be accidentally separated prior o or during the installation of the same upon a oor.

To install the door guide on an elevator door, itis merely necessary to insert thescrews l int'o the apertures provided in body member 3 and to thread these screws upwardly into the door, as

e shown 'in the drawings. When the door guide isf inserted into the threshold plate guide groove, the

- spring I5 serves to urge the body member i and the guide member I0 outwardlyin'opposite directions and against the guide bars 5, thereby guiding the door 2 in its motion and preventing the 5r rattling of the same. Owing to the action of the spring I5 in tending to move the members C and I0 outwardly and away from one another, these -members automatically adjust themselves to any width of guide groove, and always engage the sides 7g of bars 5 of the guide groove, thereby preventing rattling or vibration of the door in use.

.. Preferably the body member 6 and the guide member Ill are made of a molded material having self-lubricating properties, which molded mate- '75 rial may consist'of asbestos. graphite and a con- .thereby prevents low of member 2|.

densation product, such as bakelite. Such a suitable molded material has been described in my above mentioned copending application. It is to be understood, however. that these members 6 and I0 may be made of other materials, such as of wood, composition or even of metal. Since spring I5 serves to hold the members 6 and I 0 in engagement with thesides of the guide groove at all times, there is vno possibility of rattling or jarring even if these members are made of metal, 10 and consequently metal may be. used for this purpose. The reason that ordinary metal guide shoes rattle is because they necessarily have a loose iit in., their guide grooves and slap from one side of the guide groove to the other in use, 15 thereby causing the rattling noise of the\doors. When using the novel guide of the present invention, however,.all transverse motion of the door guide and of the door is substantially prevented, and consequently rattling is eliminated. e0 The novel guide illustrated inFigs. 4 4and 5 also is provided with a body member I1 having beveled ends 1 and apertures I6 for receiving attaching screws. 'Ihe body member I1 has a recess I8 therein extending from the top of this body 25 member almost to the bottom thereof, thereby lproviding a bottom ledge or wall 2li for supporting a guide member 2| positioned within recess I 3 The guide member 2| is of rectangular shape .and has oppositely directed projections 22 at its 'so ends, which projections are adapted to cooperate with similar,projections 23 formed lon the body member I1 at the ends of recess I3. A bowed leaf spring I5 is also contained within recess I8 and presses at its' ends upon the inner wall of recess I3 and at its center upon guide member 2 I, thereby urging this guide member .outwardly of recess I3. 'I'he outward movement of guide member 2| under the action of spring I5 is limited by projec-v tions 22 of this member engaging projections 23 40 of the body member.- Thus, the interlocking action of projections 22 and 23 prevents the accidental separation of members I1 and 2| and It will be noted that the bowed spring II renders the guide member 2|, as well as the guide member I0 of Fig. 2, self-aligning so that these guide members will automatically. align themselves with their respective guide grooves.' I

The guide construction shown in Figs. 6 and 7 50 is similar-to that shown 4in Figs. 4 and 5 with the exception that coil springs I9 are used to urge the two members I1 and 2| apart. Coil springs I9 'have their inner ends frictionally retained within circular recesses 2| provided in body member I1. 55 The bottom ledge or wall 20 supporting the guide member 2| in Figs. 6 and I is provided with an aperture 25 to allow the escape of dirt or other 'foreign-material 4which might otherwise collect within recess I 3'- and tend to interfere with the @0 movement-of guide member 2| within this recess. It Lwill be apparent that the structure of Figs. 4 and 5 may similarly be provided with van aperture similar to aperture 2l, if desired.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. v8 65 and 9, the door guide is illustrated as provided with two guide members 2| arranged at opposite sides of the body portion of the guide. Ihedoor guide in these figures has a body member 28 which is similar in external shape to the body member I1 70 of Figs. 4 to 7, the said body member having beveled ends 1 and apertures I for receiving attaching screws. Body member 265s provided with two' recesses 21 extending inwardly from the sides thereof, whichrecesses are similar t'o recesses I8 7 5 2| 2|. The guide shoes 2|, 2| are provided withv oppositely directed projections 22 at their ends which cooperate with projections 23 formed on the body member 26 to thereby prevent the escape of guide members 2| from their respective recesses. The use of the two. guide members 2| at opposite sides of the elevator door guide, enables both sides of the guide to be self-aligning or to ad- 4just itself automatically to both sides of the guide grooves. In this form of the invention, the body member 26 is preferably made of metal, and the guide members 2| are preferably made of molded material having self-lubricating properties; such as the molded material described in my aforementioned copending application. It'is obvious, however, that both the body member and the guide members may be made of the same material, if

desired, which may be either metal, composition,

wdgil or other suitable material.

e form of the invention shown in Fig. l0 is l similar to that shown in Figs. 8 and 9 with the exy ception that coil springs 30 are used to eifect the outward expansion of guidemembers 2|. Coil springs 30 have their inner ends frictionally retained within circular recesses or depressions provided in partition 2l and their outer ends bear against the guide. members 2|. In this figure the bottom ledges or walls 3| supportingthe' guide members 2| are illustrated as apertured at'32 to enable the lescape of dirt or other foreign material. .It will be apparent that the form of theiiny 40 vention shown in Figs. 8-an`d 9 may also be provided'with these self-cleaning apertures 32, if desired.

v In the form of the invention shown in Figs. l1

and 12, the intermediate partition is done away with and the body member 33 is provided with a' simple transverse recess 38 within which is vmounted the twov guide members 2|. Bowed springs 3l, 31 are shown mounted within the re- Lcess 34 and act in opposite directions to urge the respective'members 2|, 2| outwardly. The end portions of springs 31, 3l abut one another and arey slidably received in conformingV recesses 38 provided in the body member 33. 'Ihe'bottom wall 35 of the body` member 23 is illustrated as provided with an aperture 36 to enable the escape of dirt or other foreign material.

It will be apparent that' asingle integral spring may be used in lieu o f'springs 31, 21 in the form of theV invention shown in Figs. 11 and 12. It

` E30 will be noted that all the-novel guide members shown in the drawings. are self-adjusting and' eizpar'isible to'conform to the guide grooves in which they move. The guides areada'pted -tobe attached to the elevator doors by screws in' the same manner as ordinary metal guides, and

'i'd bersJany tendency of the door and hence of the body member to vibrate is directly resisted by the compression of the spring or springs.

'As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be .5

'the bottom of a door for projecting into the.

guide groove thereof, said body'member having a recess extending transversely inwardly from one side thereof, said recess being open at its top. said ody member being formed with 9.20 bottom w underlying said recess, a guide menivber` positioned within said recess andresting upon said bottonn wall, and spring means posiltioned within said'recess and interposed between -said body and said guide member for urging said 25 said b y member being formed with a bottom 35 wall underlying said recess, a guide member positioned within said recess and resting upon said bottom wall, spring means positioned within said recess and interposed between said ,body and said guide member for urging said guide member out- 60.

wardly into engagement `with the side of the door guide groove, said bottom wall having an aperture therein to permit the escape of foreign matter, and means forlimiting the outward movement of said guide member, said bottom wall and 5 the 'bottom of the door serving to prevent vertical movement of said guide member.

3. A sliding door `guide adapted to ride in a door guide-groove, said door guide comprising.

a body member arranged to be fixedly secured W to the bottom oi? a door for projecting into the guide groove thereof, said body member having recesses extending transversely inwardly from the sides thereof, said recesses being open Aat their upper sides, lsaid body member having a bottom 55 wall for closing the lower sides oi said recesses,

a pair 'of guide members, each one of said guide members beingyposltioned in a respective one' of' said recesses and spring means positioned within said recesses for urging said guide mem- I bers outwardly thereof and into engagement with the sidesof the guide groove. J

4. A sliding door guidev adapted to ride in a door guide groove, said door guide comprising, 65 a body member arranged to `b e xedly secured to the bottom'of a door for projecting intothe guide groove thereof, said body member having recessesf extending transversely inwardly from the sides thereof,'said recesses being open at their 70 upper sides, said body member having a bottom` ,K wall for closing the lower sides of said recesses a pair of guidevmembers, each otsaid guide members being positioned in a respective one of v said recesses and resting upon said bottom wall, 'Il

spring menus psitioned within slid for urging said guide members outwardly thereof and into engagement with the sides of the guide groove.k and interlocking projections formed on of foreign matter from within said recesses.

5. A door guider sliding doors comprising, l. member attached to ev edge of the door `for projecting beyond the riphery ot the door-dnd into s guidewy narr wer than the door for um :he door in it. movement. ma member having s transverse recess extending inwardly from theouter wel! thereof and having a transverse supporting'wsll, another member slidingly mounted in said recess'on said supporting wail ior movement transversely with respect to the door, said last named member having s nattened surface for engaging the side :ot the guidewsy, and s tween seid'members for urging the same apart. i0

ent spring element interposed'bewhereby seid members cooperate in guiding'the door in its movement.

,RALPH L. HENRY. 

